When Oakland Athletics rookie Nick Kurz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning on Saturday, he found himself under pressure with a 0-4 deficit and the bases loaded. The Athletics’ advantage over the Cincinnati Reds was only two runs, but Kurz didn’t flinch: his swing sent the ball to center field at 91.9 mph.
The ball left the bat at 114.6 mph (184.4 km/h) and traveled 493 feet – the longest home run in MLB in more than two years, since Shohei Ohtani hit a drive of the same distance. This impressive feat gave the Athletics an 11-5 victory.
Kurz’s Big Record and His Place in Statcast History
As a result of the blast, Kurz added a new entry to his ledger: the longest grand slam and the Athletics’ longest homer since Statcast was launched in 2015, and also the third-longest rookie homer under Statcast, behind only two by the renowned Aaron Judge.
“I really can’t say more about Nick,” said Athletics manager Mark Kotsay to reporters after the game. “I don’t know if there are words that could describe that swing.”
– Mark Kotsay, manager of the Oakland Athletics
It’s another impressive milestone for the 22-year-old slugger: this season Kurz has already hit 31 home runs, and he became the first MLB rookie to slug four home runs in a single game.
Kotsay also compared Kurz’s style to that of Hall of Famer Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, adding that it’s happening “in a different era.”
This power is attributed to his height – 6 feet 5 inches – which allows him to generate more momentum at the moment of contact with the ball, Kotsay noted.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers became the first team to clinch a playoff berth after the New York Mets fell to the Texas Rangers 3-2. The Brewers celebrated the win in typical fashion, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 in 10 innings, raising a bottle of champagne on the winners’ table.